DeMar DeRozan Says Raptors Didn’t Need Kawhi Leonard Trade To Win 2019 NBA Title | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats & Rumors

Would the Toronto Raptors have won the NBA title in the 2018-19 season with DeMar DeRozan instead of Kawhi Leonard?

It seems unlikely. The trade that sent Leonard to Toronto and DeRozan to San Antonio is often credited as one of the key factors in the Raptors’ surprise title that season.

But DeRozan offered an alternative position during Thursday’s meeting First recording during a discussion on this topic with Stephen A. Smith (thanks to Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win):

“Never to discredit those guys. They won. They deserve it. I finally got to a point where I was happy for them. But definitely. I definitely feel that way. The only person we couldn’t beat was LeBron James. That’s just it. I didn’t feel good about the year we had before that, we just needed one more thing to push us over the top. That thing was LeBron going West and I didn’t get a chance to see what would have happened. But with every confidence in myself, I have no doubt that the same outcome would have happened.”

This article will be updated soon with more information and analysis.